Death Is Sour
by dot823
Summary: Some things you can replace, like toys, or clothes. Other things you can't replace, like family and friends. Or the one you love. T for minor swearing. an AH story.
1. Chapter 1

**a/n this is my new story, an AH that I thought would be awesome to write. It will take a long time for each update, because this is the only chapter that I'm writing the chapters in a notebook before I actually type and put it on. I've only gotten up to chapter 3, but I'm dying to put up ch. 1.(The summary is subject to change, a LOT, as the story develops more)**

**Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, not even the setting or anything is mine...I basically just made it different than before :)  
**

Death Is Sour

"Bells, I know you aren't happy your mom left, but if it makes you feel better, she didn't take you with because you already had friends that you liked to play with all the time," my dad, Charlie, said.

"Dad, I know, I'm fine about that," I sighed.

He always thought that was what I was annoyed, angry, or sad about, though I know all about why she left. I had heard that speech about a thousand times since 10 years ago, when my mom left.

"Well, then what are you sad about?" he asked.

"I'm not sad, just nervous about the new kids…" I said.

"They're not going to judge you, Bella!" he told me, "if they do, you still have Mike Newton and Angela, among many other friends."

I knew what he would say next. He's said it every time he said a guys name since I turned 13.

"By the way…like any guys?"

I signed, "No, dad, Mike's only a good friend."

"There are others though…" He stated.

"Dad, I don't like Eric, Tyler, or any of the others, I promise!"

"'k," he said, then left my room.

I sighed, and looked in the mirror. I'm not that pretty, my hair's boring, strait and dark brown, like my moms, though hers is shorter, by a lot. Mike goes to near the bottom of my rib cage. I'm too skinny, though I'm not athletic and I'm still soft, somehow. I'm pale, no matter, if I go to California or not, I can't get color. My eyes match my hair, sort of. They're boring and brown, not a nice color, like blue or green.

It didn't help me to stare at myself, so I sat down on my bed, to daydream that I'd have someone who would love me as much as Romeo loved Juliet, minus the death part, but all the guys at school didn't. I don't know what they like, they being Mike Newton, Tyler Crowley, and Eric Yorkie, about me. Jessica, Lauren, and almost anyone else looks prettier, and I know they would all find someone in the other 300-and-so kids that go to Forks High School.

I looked at the clock, and saw it was 7 PM. I'm probably going to end up falling asleep earlier, but I'd finish my homework first. It only should take about a half hour. I only have a bit of English and I already finished about half of it in class. I needed to read and annotate the last two acts of Romeo and Juliet. I'm an avid reader, and I've read Romeo and Juliet about 10 times since I turned 10, seven years ago.

These acts always make me cry, so when I reach the part where Romeo dies, I put down the book so the annotations in it wouldn't get ruined from my tears. As the water works slowed, I dried my eyes and finish reading. Once I put away my books, I went to the bathroom, shared with Charlie, to take a shower and get ready for bed.

As I stood in the shower, I thought. There hasn't been mre than a handful of new students for as long as I've been in Forks elementary, middle, or high school. Now, all of a sudden, another 5 come, all at once. Before I realized it, the water cooled. I quickly finished my shower and finished getting read for bed.

I laid in my bed, and tried to stay awake, but soon I fell asleep. I knew I should have gotten up so early that morning.

___________________________________________________________________

_I was at school, in the lunch room. Five tan people cam in, three guys, all of them not bad looking. They were obviously jocks, each wearing a football jacket from their old school in Phoenix, Arizona. The two girls were tall, blond, and cheerleaders. One's hair was a bob, the other long, but pulled into a ponytail held by a ribbon. Both girls were with one of the guys. The other seemed to be checking out Lauren, and Lauren didn't seem to mind._

_"Hey, I'm Bella," I say, approaching them._

_"Oh, up, hi?" says one of the girls, in a snooty voice._

_They turn away, leaving me standing there like an idiot while I hear them talking about me, saying I'm a dork._

_______________________________________________________________________

I woke up with a start. Hopefully, Charlie was right, or they wouldn't be like they were in my dream. I looked at the clock, 4:00, it read. Though it is still dark outside, I doubt I'll be able to fall back asleep.

I got up and got ready for the school day. With my hair in a high pony tail, and dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, they were skinny jeans, to be exact, a dark purple cami with some lace at the top and bottom, and an awesome black zip-up hoodie, with pockets, zipped up to just over the top of the pockets, I went downstairs.

The kitchen, cabinets painted yellow by my mom the summer before she left, was small, a table in the center had to miss-matched chairs, neither matching the table, on opposite sides and the tiny living room had one couch, a chair, and a TV, as well as some pictures of me, me and him, and him with my mom. In the center was one of all three of us, taken when I was only one.

I walked back to the kitchen after checking to see if Charlie had fallen asleep on the couch, after his game, or had gone upstairs. He was on the couch. I made him some toast, and put it on the coffee table, then made my own. Once I finished eating, I went upstairs to check my email, and finish getting ready.

All of this only took me an hour and a half. I still had an hour until I needed to go. I started to think of how slow my computer is, so I decided to start cleaning it up of unused content. After deleting about half of the content, I looked around my room again. It had only been 15 minutes, I realized, looking at the clock. What could I do with the rest of that time?

My room had light blue walls and yellowed lace curtains from my baby days. The computer was on the same wall as the bed on the other side of the window, the bedding was like a night sky, darker blue, closer to black, with white spots meant to look like stars. In the corner, my rocking chair, also from my baby days, sat with some clothes hanging over the back. I might as well clean my room, I thought. That too, though, only took a few minutes. Once I ran out of other things to do, I decided to listen to my itunes and read for a bit.

The book I've been reading in my free time is one by Tamora Peirce, one from the 'Song of the Lioness' quartet. They don't take too long, but it depends on how much time I have to read, and this week, I haven't had too much time. Since I was close to the end, already, I finished the book in about 20 minutes, then put it in the pile I have, ready for me to take back to the library soon. I got the next book from my other pile, for books I need to read. Instead of reading more, I decided to leav early, maybe I'd get a chance to see the new kids before they saw me.

I got on long boots, they went up until about two inches from my knees, they were black, like my sweat shirt, with a zipper and about two inches of fake fur on the other end, and the string that threats through loops, avoiding the zipper, leads to puffballs of fake fur like on the top. After tying them on the outside, so my feet wouldn't get tangled, I went to the living room, remembering, finally, to wake up Charlie.

"Dad, come on!" I said in his ear, shaking him.

"What!? What?! Did Mike sneak in and try to do something with you?!?" He always says that if I wake him up.

"No, dad," I said, laughing, "but you WILL be late for work if you don't hurry!"

Charlie's the chief of police, and because of that, I was the most protected girl in the area. Charlie jumps up and runs up stairs, tripping, much like I do. That is because un-coordination is a trait of his that I share, along with not needing to talk to feel comfortable with someone. As he ran upstairs, I got on my coat, black and rain/snow proof, a must on the Olympic Penninsula. I went outside, holding on to anything so I don't fall too much. When I was only a yard or two away from it, I admired my truck.

It was an old, red, Chevy, the kind that can shred a foreign car to pieces and come out unscratched. Round bumpers weren't very helpful for me, since I could slip, and I can't get a good hold. Because of how cold it was in early February, I then hurried to my car, slipping on my way. I heard the door slam shut and Charlie making his way to my, to try and help me up.

Some how, he mad it, and he helped me up, then continued to the cruiser, while I made my way to my truck. When I checked the clock in the car, it said I had another 25 minutes until I would usually leave, at 6:30. Considering there was no now because I was exactly 33 degrees out, I'll make it. I drove to the school, off the highway, in only a few minutes, then running to my first classroom to get out of the cold.

No one was there, so I started, the next book, to read until one of my friends came. A little while later, whith about 10 minutes until school started, at 7, Angela came.

"Hey," she sighed, "Have you seen the new kids yet?"

"No, I got here really early, didn't get a chance," I told her, wondering what she had to say about them.

"They just got here," she started, "They're being annoyed by Jessica as we speak. She's trying to hook up with the single one."

"Ha!" I laughed, "That's exactly what I thought she'd do, but I thought she liked Mike?"

"She does, but she thinks this new guy is really 'Hott'."

Angela is my best friend. Her hair is brown like mine, but curly, though it's sort of frizzy, and she has glasses that hide blue eyes. She's pretty tall, especially next to her boyfriend, Ben, wh is a blondie with blue eyes. Jessica has light brown hair with bluish green eyes, and she likes Mike, a the blonde with greek eyes. Tyler Crowley has black hair and dark eyes, same with Eric Yorkie. Tyler and Lauren, with blond, long, hair and grey, yet pretty, eyes, are going out, though Lauren is probably out with Jessica, bothering the new kids.

"So, are we going to see them, or are we going to sit here alone?" Angela asked.

"Let's go," I said, and hopped up, leaving my things there.

We ran toward the parking long, where I saw a silver car, surrounded by people, and next to the car, five far-away, new faces, that I didn't recognize. I watched from a distance as the people made their way out of the crowd. None of them wore cheerleading uniforms or a Jock's jacket. From what I saw, two, who I took to be twins, had blonde hair. The other three had darker hair, something like black or brown. They all had a surprising skin color, for people that lived in Arizona. They were all really pale. I recognized Jessica and Lauren, flirting with one of the dark haired guys.

"Too bad they're so busy," I sighed, and Angela nodded.

Though I really want to meet them, I'll do so later, when less people are bugging them to be friends. Angela started toward our class room, and I followed.

_________________________________________________________________

After four periods of classes, including English, Math, and Spanish, it was finally lunch. I walked with Mike and Jessica, in my last class, to the cafeteria.

About half of the school has my lunch period, so hopefully one, two, or maybe even all of the new kids would be in it too. As we stepped in, I looked for the new kids. They were kin a corder, the blonde girl was with the biggest of the dark-haired guys, who had short, sort-of curly, brown, hair. On the opposite side of the table was the blonde guy, who had longer, curlier hair, with the shortest girl. The shortest girl had black, short, hair, that was styled to look spiky. Next to the girl was a guy with shortish bronze/red/ brown hair that was messy, but styleish.

They were all extremely beautiful, and definitely not part of normal life here, yet. I waved back at Mike and Jessica as I walked to their table, alone.

"Hey, I'm Bella," I started, "You must be the Cullens and Hales, right?"

"Yeah," said the girl with black hair, "I'm Alice, this is Jasper," she pointed to the one with her.

"Hey," I waved, and Jasper smiled.

"This is Edward, he's Emmett, and that's Rosalie," she pointed to everyone in order of their names.

Edward smiled, and waved, Emmett came up for a high five and Rosalie nodded in my direction. I waved or nodded to Edward and Rosalie, and gave Emmett the high five he wanted.

"D'ya want to sit with us?" started Emmett, "Edward needs a girlfriend, and the other girls are all annoying or rude, or something else is wrong with them."

Edward scowled and flicked him off while everyone else laughed at some degree. Even Rosalie, who I take to be the most serious, smiled.

"Sure, I just have to tell my friends," I said, then set my stuff down on the chair next to Emmett.

I ran to my friends' table, and sat in the empty chair next to Angela for a second.

"Hey, Angela, I'm sitting with the new kids, don't let any of the others stalk me, ok?" I joked at the end.

"by the others, you mean the guys, I'm guessing?" Angela laughed.

"I mean Jessica too, but that works!" She laughed and nodded, "Thanks!"

"See ya," she said, as I got up.

I walked back to their table, and laughed when everyone at my other table got quiet, and I heard the shuffling of someones chair. I'm guessing it was someone coming to follow me, but Angela stopped whoever it was.

"So, what's good around here?" asked Emmett.

"Depends on what your definition of good is," I answered.

"Sports and working out!" said Emmett.

"Shopping!!" Alice said in her high voice.

"Cars," Rosalie said, curiously.

"Reading material and anything related to the civil war," Jasper said.

"We have a few sports teams, but I stay away from anything physical that I don't have to do, so I wouldn't know what they were," I started to answer for all of them, "A little while away is Port Angeles and about an hour away there's Seattle. Stores for clothes, books, and I think even a civil war memorabilia store are all around there. There are a few car dealerships and mechanic shops around here too, and I have a few good friends in La Push, Jacob Black, Quil Ateara, and Embry Call. They love things like that."

Rosalie brightened up a bit, and I told her how to find them. All three are car-maniacs, and love to fix up anything, cars especially, with each other. Though all of them are 16 years old and sophomores, they're cool to hang out with.

"Rose, if they hit on you, they're gonna need some body guards," Emmett cautioned her.

Everyone laughed a little, and I couldn't help but notice how they all sounded. Emmett's was booming, Rosalie's like one from the commercials with a girl running across a beach, laughing, Alice's like really high bells, Jasper a bit like Rosalie's except less girly. Edwards was, though, by far, the best. His sounded like music, smooth, classical, music. I looked in his direction, and saw that his eyes were emerald green; bright and lovely, filled with laughter, and strikingly green. Everyone slowly stopped laughing as I stared into his eyes.

Looking up, I saw them all looking at me, smiling. Alice had a lighter green eye color, Emmett's a bit darker shade of green. Rosalie and Jasper had blue eyes, Jaspers dark and calm, sort of like an oceanic blue, and Rosalie had really light ad solid eyes, sort of like ice. I blushed and looked down at the counter top. I realized I had forgotten to get lunch, and looked at the clock. 20 minutes left in the period, already.

"Shit," I said, as I looked at the rest of the table, no one else got food either, "we forgot to get food."

I stood up, and so did everyone else at the table. Without looking at my other friends, I went to the lunch line and grabbed a burger and a container filled with strawberries and whipped cream. When I went to pay for the overly-priced goods, I had to look at my friends. Jessica looked at me as though I had betrayed her, Lauren was glaring at me, so strongly that if looks could kill, I'd be dead. Angela was facing the other way, eating, but Mike, Tyler, and Eric were all glaring above my head. I guess at Edward.

It was just stupid. I barely know Edward, they barely know him, but because I talked to his family once, they hate him. It's kind of idiotic, they could all have someone else if they wanted. We sat down and ate, first, I ate the hamburger, then I enjoyed my strawberries and whipped cream. When I finished them, and I had noting else to eat, I excused myself, saying that I was going to get to my class early. After saying bye to then, and waving to my other friends, I started to walk, slowly, to Biology II, and Angela soon got up and followed me, so we could talk.

"Who got up first?" I asked, jokingly.

"Jessica," I should have known, "She was planning on using you being there as an excuse to flirt with Edward, I think."

"Typical her,: I said and we laughed.

After talking to her for a few minutes, the bell rang and we walked into the class as other left it. Minutes later, Mike, also in this class with me, came in, and we talked until about a minute before the bell, when I went to my table, the only one without a partner, and he to his. I got out my book and decided to read just a bit more. I only got a few paragraphs ito it when everyone got quiet. I looked up out of curiousity.

Standing in from of the room, handing Mr. Banner a slip, I'm guessing to sign, was Edward Cullen.

Mr. Banner made him introduce himself , but after that short introduction, he was instructed to sit next to me. He smiled when he saw I was there, and walked over with his books. As he sat down, Mr. Banner told me to help him catch up, and I got out my binder, to give him his sections notes.

"Thanks," He said in a musical voice, much like his laugh.

He then smiled a crooked smile, one I noticed made my heart skip a beat. It showed amazingly straight and white teeth, and his eyes shined with happiness.

"No problem," I said, and faced forward.

I started blushing, and, embarrassed by my blushing, that happens way too often, I hid my face in my hair as I took notes all period long. When the bell rang, I gathered my notes, he thanked me again, and I left. Angela caught up with me on my way to P.E.

"Bella! Why didn't you even look at him?!" she asked, confused, "You sat across form him earlier and didn't let your shiness get to you!"

"I don't know, I just freaked out a bit, I guess," I admitted.

"Yikes," she sighed, "Let's hope he doesn't think you hate him or something."

"Yeah," I frowned.

She left for her next class and I went into the locker room to change for my worst class. P. E. isn't my cup of tea, it's actually more like a cup of poison, since I almost always give myself or someone else and injury. I fell as I tried to change, thankfully, I was the only one close enough to get hurt.

When I stepped out and into the gym, Mike came to talk to me.

"Hey," he started, "talking to the new kid, huh?"

"Yeah…"I said.

"I don't really like it," he said.

"Well, why?" I asked.

"It's sort of suspicious, don't you think? All of a sudden, five teens move here, to Forks, and they say they're from Arizona, but they're all really pale."

"Maybe they don't tan easily, I don't," I was offended by his comment.

"But you live here, the rainiest place in the U.S., it's harder to tan here than it is in Arizona."

"Mike, when I go to California, I don't tan easily! The only place I tanned at was Death Valley, and I only barely tanned though we were there for a week!" I almost screamed.

"Yeah, but-" I cut him off.

"No but's, Mike. They aren't whatever you're trying to make them out as."

He sighed, and we went to our spots. Coach Clapp explained that we were going to play volleyball, and set us up. Mike was on my team, so when it ended up that our team had an extra player, he told me to just sit out. I hate sports, so there would be no way to make me play, and since Coach Clapp knew that I'd probably hurt someone if I made contact with a that volleyball, or any type of sports equipment, he had no problem with me not playing.

I waved goodbye to Mike at the end of the period and went to get dressed, only falling twice while doing so. As I walked out into the cold, I looked around. The temperature had obviously gone down a lot, because it was snowing, and the road had a thin covering of ice. Great.

Pulling my winter coat on closer and tighter, I walked slower than usual, so I would only trip a little normal that usual, I went to my truck. I looked where I saw the silver car that morning when I reached my truck, and saw an empty spot instead. The Cullens were gone by the time I could reach my truck.

Grabbing my MP3 player as I got into my truck, I turned it on and set it to play my favorite songs, some Debussy, Linkin' Park, Muse, and on the headphones, I started my car, letting it warm up before putting it in reverse, and slowly and safely trying to get home. As I drove, I wondered if I would be able to talk to Edward ever again without being severely embarrassed, even thoroughly. I don't think so, but I hope so.

**a/n ok....if you read this before, sorry! it went up totally wrong and I had to fix it...**


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n sorry about the long wait..I was almost done with 2 when I put up ch. 1, and now I've written a lot of ch. 3, but it's not done, and I was planning on waiting until I finished ch 3 to put up ch 2, but you've waited long enough for another ch, in my POV…I'll try to finish ch 3 in less than a week, can't promise it, but I'll try**

Death Is Sour

When I got home, Charlie still wasn't there, so I put a pot of water on to boil, getting what I needed for a simple tomato and mushroom sauce, as well as some spaghetti. In the tomato sauce, I added pepper, oregano, a clove of garlic, a bit of finely chopped onion, diced tomato, and mushrooms. As I slowly finished it, I poured enough spaghetti for two into the boiling water in the pot.

As it cooked, I started my math homework. Math was the hardest class for me, but it should only take about an hour, since we only had five problems, because my teacher was giving us a test tomorrow and didn't want to give us more than a small review for homework. I didn't get much work done, because I kept checking the food, though. As it finished, I got out plates, making one for Charlie and one for myself, setting his in front of the chair I wasn't going to sit in. I finished the problem I was on, the third one, and, as I finished it, Charlie opened the door.

"Bells, I'm home!" He passed the living room, coming straight for the food, "Is this homemade sauce? It smells great!"

He was rather happy today, for some reason.

"Yep. Just like always, dad," I laughed, "What are you so happy about?"

"That nothing big happened today, no big crimes at all! Oh, and that I met the new kids you were so worried about. They seem nice, their parents had them bring all of us a snack earlier."

"That's good," I said.

"Yeah," He started, "This is great!"

He had started eating, and he obviously loved it, since he didn't talk again until he finished. I was eating as well, and found that I did cook it well today. Once I finished, I washed my dish, and put it up to dry, and grabbed Charlies dish as he walked to the sink.

"Thanks," he said, and left for the living room.

I heard sports being played on the TV and went upstairs with my backpack. I finished my math homework quickly and started the rest. Thankfully, I had an okay load, and an hour later, it was all done. I tried to start my old computer, I've had it for five years, and it's really slow. As it finished starting up, MSN popped up. Though I only have a few friends on it, I still like to use MSN because I don't have to open up AOL or any other multi-use program. I typed in my email, , and my password, Debussey.

When I logged on, I discovered that Jessica's status message was 'I can't believe you did that, Bella!' I doubt I'll be talking to her a lot for a while. Angela was also on, though she had nothing in her status message. I opened a chat window with her.

---(chat starts here)---

Bella says: Hey, Angela  
Angela says: Hey, what's up?  
Bella says: Nothin' much. U?  
Angela says: Same.  
Angela says: I can't believe how immature Jess is being! It's so annoying!  
Bella says: I know! I thought she liked Mike!  
Angela says: She still does, but she likes Edward too.  
Bella says: I doubt Edward likes her…  
Angela says: Yeah. She was ticked off because he didn't check her out or whatever.  
Bella says: Hah. How'd she act when I went to talk to them?  
Angela says: She freaked out!  
Bella says: Wow…guess what Mike did during gym?  
Angela says: What?  
Bella says: He thinks that the Cullens are 'hiding something'!!  
Angela says: like what? Lol…  
Bella says: where they 'came from,' like they're aliens or something. He doesn't think they lived in Arizona because they aren't tan!  
Angela says: stereotyping much?  
Bella says: I know!  
Angela says: G2G—my bros need help with their hw…  
Bella says: K, see ya

---(chat ends here)---

No one else was on, and I really didn't want to talk to anyone else, if they came on, so I signed off soon after Angela did. I opened up an internet explorer window and checked my Comcast email——to find no real emails, just junk mail. After deleting it, I got off my computer, grabbing my book, and read. I ended up reading for a few hours, until about 8PM. I got ready for bed, then, starting with a hot shower that lasted half and hour, to try and clear my mind, me trying to brush and braid my hair, and more. By 9 PM, I was ready.

I got my CD player and put in my Debussey CD, putting the headphones on, and read in bed for another hour, falling asleep soon after putting it down. I slept soundly and dreamlessly, for once.

______________________________________________________________________________

The next few days were eventless. The Cullens and Hales still didn't fit in, but they weren't as big of a deal as they had been the first day. I only talked to them at lunch, where Rosalie constantly talked about the car Jacob was working on, that she helped with, called a 'rabbit'. I also found out that their car is a Volvo, and they have a Jeep, BMW, and more, but most of what Rosalie talked about was just plain confusing.

Emmett said that he joined a gym, Jasper got a job at the civil war store, and Alice had shopped-a lot. I had realized that Edward never said what things he likes, when I first met him. I asked, and he said one word.

"Music."

"There's a huge music store in Port Angeles, it has classical, rock, and everything in between. I prefer the classical section, to be honest," the last part I didn't mean to say, it just blurted out.

I blushed, but Edward smiled. Everyone else looked at me, then at Edward, then back at me. I _hate _being the center of attention, so I lowered my head, blushing even deeper. I checked the clock, looking for an escape, and saw it was almost time for biology. Shit. I just remembered, Edward's in that class. This'll be more embarrassing than that first day, especially since we're doing a lab today.

The rest of the lunch period was kind of awkward, at least, to me. I sort of stayed out of the conversation. When the period ended, I walked to Biology, Edward walking, awkwardly, next to me. As we sat down, Mike walked in, and glared at Edward. I still talk to Mike, but he hates Edward, so it's always sort of awkward. Angela doesn't car, though Jessica still hates me for it.

Edward started talking, as I dazed off.

"I know you're embarrassed, but you should be. The only reason they all stared was because I love classical music too, and I've only met a handful of students, at this school and back in Phoenix, that could even stand classical."

"Oh," I started, blushing, "Same with me, but my friend, Angela, sort of likes it."

He wrinkled his nose for a second.

"Is she the one that you were talking to before introducing yourself to us the first day?"

I laughed. That must be why he wrinkled his nose! He hated Jessica just that much!

"No, that's Jessica. Angela's the one that stopped Jessica from following me to your table," I informed him.

"Oh," He started, "I like her."

Again, I laughed. Maybe I will get over my embarrassment from the first day, but one day of talking won't do it. I'm still sort of embarrassed about it. After that short talk, the chatting ended, and I pulled out my book to read before the bell. As I had a heavy load of homework, and then a light load, I had managed to read almost all of the book I started the day he came I only had to finish this last chapter, and only a few pages of it, too! I did finish it, reading the last sentence as the bell rang.

Mr. Banner walked in with a cart full of lab material. I already knew this lab because I had to do it myself last year, when I was in honors biology I. Edward sighed sadly, so I had a feeling he either did this before, or really didn't want to do it a first time. I didn't have a chance to ask, because Mr. Banner began to explain the lab.

It would be easy, all we had to do was look in a microscope and organize the stages of mitosis in a cell.

"I've done this before, so if you want-" Edward started.

"I did I, we'll just do it really quickly then, I guess," I interrupted.

"Oh, okay."

He slid slide one in place, and offered me a shot. I put my eye to the microscope and adjusted it so it would be easier to see. The cell had chromosomes flowing around in it, so it was in prophase.

"Prophase," I told him.

"'K," he said, writing it down.

I had never seen his handwriting before, so I leaned over a bit, to see it. I was surprised to find that it reminded me of calligraphy, so neatly done, much better than mine. I stopped staring, so he wouldn't find me creepy, or any more creepy that he probably already does, and switched the slides to slide two, passing it to him. He smiled slightly, and thanked me, setting the microscope the way he wanted, and told me it was anaphase. I decided to trust him, and pulled back the microscope to switch slides again.

The rest of the lab was as easy as the first two slides, and we finished quickly. Edward put our names on it, and turned in the paper, as I took care of the slides. When I got back, the microscope was gone, and Edward was wrapping one up in the back, where we were told to leave them for the next class. Mr. Banner, suspicious of how good we could do in such a short time, was already grading ours, and looked amazed.

"Isabella, Edward, come here please?" Mr. Banner said, as he finished grading it.

We walked up, and I hoped it wasn't that he thought we had cheated or anything along those lines.

"I know you couldn't have cheated, because some slides were put in a different order for each group, and you did it perfectly!" He smiled, "So, you were in honors biology last year, Bella? Why switch to normal?"

"My dad thought I was over-working myself with 3 honors classes, so he asked me to switch one of them to normal," I answered.

"And you were in advanced classes in Phoenix, Edward?" He asked.

"Yes, but I didn't know what the work was like here, and I didn't want to seem like a know-it-all, so I switched some to normal classes."

So he was some kind of genious? I wonder if I'd ever be as good as he is at school work. I doubt it. I think my not being smart, or as smart as him, would ruin my chances of getting to know him better.

"Do you want to stay in this class or switch?" Mr. Banner asked.

My heart started beating double time. I wanted to get to know Edward better, and having this class together would help, a lot. If he switches, he may have to switch lunch too! Then I'd never get to know him! To my relief, he shook his head.

"I'm already situated here, I'd rather stay in this class," was his official answer.

"If you're sure," Mr. Banner said, glancing at me.

Did he think Edward and I were a 'thing'? I don't think teachers are supposed to show that they think about that kind of stuff, or maybe he just thought his glance wasn't obvious? Oh well, it was still embarrassing. I kept my eyes down for a bit, blushing, until it faced as much as it could.

"Well, if you're sure," Mr. Benner repeated, "Good job, today!"

He sat down, and we went to our seats. Now, I had no book to read, so I got out my homework. Since this lab was more like a partner test, we had no homework in this class, and I didn't have much in any other classes. I only worked on it for about 5 minutes before a sheet of paper was slid underneath my book. To hid the fact that it was a note, I made it look like I had the sheet already and needed information from it, or needed to write something down.

Lifting the side of my book, I grabbed the paper, oved the book again and put in on one side, the handwriting, obviously, was Edwards.

**(a/n italics is Edward's writing, Bold is Bella's, normal is her thoughts)**

_I think Mr. Banner would be ok if we wrote notes, since we finished our lab. _The note read. I added to it, on the next line.

**Ok…but do you want to talk about?**

I set down the piece of paper, and moved over my book, constantly looking at the sheet like I need to use it.

_I feel bad that we haven't gotten to know each other very well. Oh, and you can stop acting like you are doing any homework, no one else has finished so they aren't paying attention, Nor would they care._

**Fine, and what is there to know? **I wrote back before putting away my books, though I kept my pencil out. We continued to pass notes.

_A lot of stuff._

**Like?**

_How about you tell me about your life?_

**Later, when we can actually talk. It's a long story, sorta.**

_Ok. What about your favorite color?_

**It chances constantly.**

_What is it right now?_

I started to blush, because of what my favorite was, or rather, why it was that.

**Green.**

_Why?_

**I'd rather not tell you, not now, at least.**

_Oh, ok, will you tell me later?_

**Probably not later today, but in a year or so, if we get closer, maybe.**

_What's your favorite food?_

**Probably mushroom ravioli, but in general, anything that Mediterranean.**

_Greek?_

**Yeah, I love Greek food!**

_Ok. Now what's your favorite type of book to read?_

**Classics, as in, really old classics, or books about girl heros.**

_Ah, ok._

**What about you?**

_For what?_

**Life story, maybe?**

_My birth parents died with I was 7, I was in foster care until I was 10, when Carlisle and Esme, my adoptive parents, adopted me, along with my sister and brother, Alice and Emmett. Two years ago, Jasper and Rosalie lost their parents, Carlisle's brother and sister-in-law. They came to Carlisle, where Rosalie and Emmett fell in love and Alice and Jasper fell in love._

**Wow, I'm sorry about your parents.**

I hope I hadn't asked anything too personal.

_It's o.k. :) I can't remember them as well as Emmett, or even Alice._

**Are you and Alice twins?**

They're in the same grade, so I had to ask. He chuckled a little.

_We're Irish Twins._

**? You don't look like it.**

_Not from Ireland. Irish Twins aren't really twins, they're just born less than a year apart. Alice and I are barely Irish Twins._

**Really?**

_Yeah, 11 months, to the dot. My birthday is in June, hers is in July of the year before. Our mother, Elizabeth, loved kids._

**Wow.**

_Do you have any siblings?_

**No.**

_Oh, Ok._

As I read that, the bell rang. He grabbed the notes sheet and asked me what I had next. As I got my bag, I told him.

"Will you tell me more about you if I walk with you?" He asked.

Laughing, I answered, "sure."

He asked me about big events in my life first.

"You're birthday?"

"September 13th."

"What was the best part of your childhood? Or the best parts."

"Seeing my parents happy," I sighed.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked.

There was true concern in his eyes, for some reason.

"Nothing."

"Something is wrong. Is it the thing you didn't want to tell me?" He asked.

I shook my head. It's not that I didn't want to tell him about my mom leaving, it's just that I don't know if he'll think something bad about my family, since his is so solid and happy. Well, I guess that means I don't want to tell him, then.

"Ok, um…tell me later?" He asked as we got to the door to the girls locker room.

"Um…maybe," I answered tentively.

I never realized before how nice his smile was. It was crooked, showing a dimple on one side, and flashed perfect teeth. The two front teeth were a bit bigger than the rest, but not too much so, and the canine teeth were a bit pointy. The smile was a true one, and reached his eyes, making them sparkle a bit more than usual. It put me in a daze, but I made myself come out of it quickly. The smile was contagious, as well, I had to smile too. I laughed a bit, and nodded.

"Ok, then, see you tomorrow?" I asked.

He laughed, truly laughed, and his head tilted back a bit.

"It's Friday, remember?"

"Oh…um…" I blushed, "Then I'll see you Monday."

He laughed more, and nodded, waving goodbye. I waved back, and as he walked away, I walked into the locker room. I dressed slowly, still in a small gaze from his smile, and thinking of him. I only fell a few times, too! The rest of PE was awkward and silent between Mike and I, but near the end, as I was walking to the locker rooms, he stopped me by grabbing my shoulder.

"Be safe with Edward. I think he wants you for somethi-" I cut him off.

"Edward will _not_ do that to me," I almost growled.

Mike backed off, but as I changed back into my clothes, and got my gym clothes to wash, I thought, yet again, about Edward. Why did I stand up for him? He's a good person, but I don't usually get so…protective, or emotional, about people talking badly about someone else. I couldn't get him out of my head as I walked out the locker room doors. As I did, I got tapped on the shoulder. I jumped a bit, because I hadn't realized someone was there. I turned, expecting Mike, ready to insist Edward was evil, in one form or another.

"What, Mike? Ready to insist Edward is a murderer? Or perhaps he worships Hitler?" I said, halfway turned.

Edward looked at me with an odd look that said all over it, 'is she crazy?'. Shit. Now I'm even more embarrassed!

"Um, oops?" I said, blushing, "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you. Mike's in this period, so I thought it was him."

"And he accuses me of being Nazi, and a murderer?" he said, laughing.

I blushed.

"No, not yet, anyway. He's accused you of wanting to seduce me, though!" I blurted out.

He looked angry for a second, then started laughing.

"As long as you don't believe him…" He questioned.

"No, I don't. Mike is really just jealous of you, that's the only reason he's saying that stuff," I informed Edward.

"Oh," he laughed, "But…why's he jealous?"

"Because I talk to you. Soon, Eric Yorkie and Tyler Crowley'll probably start making up stories about you killing 100 people in Mexico or something like that," I told him.

He laughed. I couldn't get over how musical it sounded, and knowing that he liked classical music, his laugh, somehow, reminded me of it. I could almost make out the harmony of Claire de Lune, mixed with new melodies, almost. It made me smile. His musical laughter turned into a cough, just one, and he stopped laughing.

"Let's get moving, then. Before Mike Newton comes out," He said, starting us on a walk to my truck.

"Good idea."

The idea came a little too late though, because, as we walked out, Mike came out of the locker room.

He silently went on the other side of Edward, but at a distance, and in my range of sight. He followed us, making notions to say things like that I shouldn't talk to Edward. Some of these were a finger across the neck, a big X made from his arms, then him pointing towards Edward, and him pointing toward Edward then making little devil horns with his fingers. I ignored them all as best as I could.

"What kind of classical music do you like?" He asked.

"I absolutely love Claire de Lune, but other than that being my favorite, I have no other preferences, I like a lot of kinds," I answered.

"I see…" He said, very thoughtfully.

"Hm?" I wondered what he was thinking of.

"Nothing, I was just thinking," and he still was thinking.

We had reached my truck, He stpped in, as I was, to open my door for me. I let him do so, saying thanks. As I got in, he waited, and when I was buckled up, and ready to go, he was still holding the door open. I smiled, waiting for him to realize it.

"Oh, um…" He said, as he came out of his thoughts and realized it.

He blushed, but I just laughed a bit, and his lovely, crooked, dazzling, smile showed on his face. It was still just as contagious as before, causing me to smile too.

"I'd better let you get home," He said, letting go of the door.

"Yeah," I said.

There was some silence, and we didn't move much.

"See you Monday, then?" He asked.

"Yeah, see ya," I smiled.

He nodded then backed away from my truck, after shutting the door for me. I got out of the parking lot, struggling not to look back at Edward Cullen.

**a/n this chapter may seem longer, but it actually has around 700 or 800 less words than the first. Dang…oh well! I think it was still pretty good! Review, please!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n sorry about the forever-ness between this update and the last…it takes me a while to write the chapters, and I was trying to get most of ch. 4 done…I still have 4 more pages to write for it, sadly.**

Death Is Sour

When I got home, I decided to relax a bit, and called Charlie really quickly.

"Hey, dad," I said when he answered.

"Hey, Bells, you home?" he asked, then thought about it for a second, "alone?"

I laughed, "Yeah, dad, Mike Tyler, and the rest aren't here, I promise."

"Good," he sighed, "So, what's up?"

"Could you pick up some food on the way home?" I asked.

"Bells, Friday is always take-out day, remember?" Charlie reminded me.

It was. Every Friday, Charlie would get food on his way home or take me out to get some, so I could have a day off.

"What do you want today? I'm thinking Mexican or Greek."

"Um…" I thought, "Mexican. Get me two tacos, soft shell, please."

"'k," came Charlie's response as he wrote it down, "See you later."

"Yup," I said, "Bye."

I hung up, and went to my room to grab my Romeo and Juliet, 1990 version, DVD. As I set up the DVD, the phone rang. I left the DVD how it was, in the DVD player, but open, and answered the phone.

"Hello, Swan residence," I started.

"Hey Bella! I haven't seen you in ages!" Said the familiar voice of Jacob Black.

"Oh! Hey Jake! What's up?" I asked.

I haven't talked to Jacob since last Saturday, and wasn't exactly expecting him to call.

"We're having a huge barbeque, and my dad wanted me to invite you and Charlie," He told me.

Billy Black, Jake's dad, loved holding barbeques, even in the middle of winter. Especially since his house was barely big enough for him and his family, before Rachel and Rebecca left, and his poor wife died. Now, his home held him and Jacob, barely, but he still loved parties.

"Isn't it a bit early in the year?" I asked with a laugh.

He laughed as well, "Yeah, that's what I said, but will you still come?"

"Um…Charlie should be home soon, when he gets here, I'll asked," I told him, "When?"

"Tomorrow, come at noon, we're going to go to pick up someone who needs a ride then go out later," he informed me

"Ok, so tomorrow at noon, your place?" I made sure, writing it on the white board on my fridge as I talked.

"Yup," He answered.

"'k," I started, "I'll try to make it, can I call you later and tell you his answer?"

"That'd be a big help, Bella," He said semi-thankful, semi-teasing, since he knew that's what I always did.

"Ha ha," I said, "see ya."

"Yeah, bye," he spoke and hung up.

I hung up then got back to the DVD, closing the player, grabbing the remote before I sat down, and spreading myself across the couch. I started the DVD, pressing play, and got comfy. I almost missed the fact that, about where Romeo meets Juliet, Charlie opened the door.

"Hey, Bells, pause your movie and get your food," he said, walking to the kitchen.

I paused it, grudgingly, and got up from my seat. As he set out the food, his 2 enchiladas and one hard shell taco, and my two soft shell tacos, I got him some beer, and myself a water bottle. We sat down, and started eating. Once I finished on taco, I stopped for a second to tell him.

"Dad? Billy's having a barbeque tomorrow, he wants us to come," I told him.

"Ah, that man is crazy! Tomorrow is February 10th, and he's having a barbeque? I guess we'll go though…" Charlie started, "What time?"

"Jake says noon," I told him.

"Ok, I'll tell the guys at the station I'm leaving early."

"Mhm."

I finished my food, and he his, and, as he walked upstairs, I picked up the phone. Dialing Jakes number, I got sort of excited. I missed him, having not been there since a week after New Years, at his dad's last party.

"Hello?" asked Billy.

"Hey, Billy, it's Bella, is Jake there?" I asked him.

"Yes, I'll get him," He said.

I heard him yell for Jacob, because, since he had to go in the wheelchair, it was a much easier way to do things. Shuffling sounds came through the phone, and I heard a slightly winded Jacob tell his dad thanks.

"Hey Bella! What's up?" he asked.

"My dad said yeah, so we'll definitely be there!" I told him.

"Awesome!" He screamed through the phone.

"Yeah," I laughed.

"I'll see ya there, there!" Jacob said.

"yeah, see ya!" I said, hanging up.

I went back to the movie and pressed play.

_____________________________________________________________________________

By the end of the movie, I was crying. I always did while watching any version of Romeo and Juliet. I decided then to take back all my finished books to the library and renew the ones I've still got to read. I got outside with the pile under a plastic bag, and opened the passenger door. As I set it down on the seat, my coat-clad back got wet from the freezing rain, caused by the 33 degrees is currently was. Walking to the other side, I grasped my car so I wouldn't' fall, which, thankfully, worked.

I drove to the Port Angeles Library slowly, as if my truck could go more than 55 miles. The librarians knew me well, and welcome me with open arms.

"Hello, Bella!" whispered one of them.

"He, just came to return these," I pointed to the bag of books in my hands, "and renew these," I pointed to the receipt for some books in my hand.

"Ah, no new books?" she asked.

"No, I have a big pile as it is."

She nodded, and took my books and receipt, matching up books until only the ones I still had were left. She then renewed them and returned the ones I had brought with.

"Bye, Bella, come back soon!" she said.

I waved as I left, going back into the rain, then to my truck. When I got home, I decided to start my homework and found that I could finish it in an hour. Charlie had taken over the TV, so I started up my computer to check my email. I won't go on messanger, because, after I empty out my mail, I'm going to start my classical music playlist and read.

______________________________________________________________________________

I wasn't too surprised when I looked at the clock and found that I had been reading for 5 hours, and it was currently 10 o'clock at night. Charlie was still downstairs, watching one game or another, so I made my way to the bathroom and got ready for bed. Once I was in bed, lights off, I found it hard to fall asleep. I had finished the Song of the Lioness books earlier and had finished the first book in a series called The Claidi Journals. Though the books were very small, the first was very good.

I found myself reading the second book, but falling asleep, an hour later, and put my bookmark in, falling asleep even as I set it down. I slept dreamplessly.

______________________________________________________________________________

I woke up to bright sunlight shining through my window. Awesome! Though I live in Forks, I prefer sunlight. This unexpected sunlight would make my day with Jacob even better! I looked at the clock and saw that it was 10 AM. I had two hours, an hour and a half with travel time in my truck. Down stairs, I smelled the only thing Charlie could cook; eggs. I went downstairs to help him finish it up, and saw scrambled eggs for me on a plate adjourned by bacon and toast.

I made it into a sandwich as Charlie got his eggs onto a plate with bacon and toast. I ate mine quickly, and he hate his slower. Once my plate was washed, I went upstairs to get ready for the day. As I pulled my hair into a half-ponytail, I saw it was almost time to go.

"Dad? It's almost time to go!" I yelled down to him.

I heard him scramble up the stairs and went into my room to get dressed. I found a pair of dark flare jeans, a dark, lace-less cami, and an orange top with a hood, pockets, and meant to have a cami or tank-top underneath, because the neckline was really low. The sleeves were long, thankfully. I decided to wear a pair of long socks. They were strange, and polka-dotted orange. I left my room, going downstairs to get on my pair of classic, black, converse All-stars. Charlie rushed down as I checked the time.

"We aren't going to be too late, right?" he asked.

"No, just on time," I said as I got on my coat.

He pulled on his with a sigh of relief and he took the keys, insisting on driving us. We got there at noon, as expected.

"Hey, Bella!" Jacob called from the side of his house, "He, Charlie, dad's inside watching sports."

"Thanks," Charlie sad, and walked into their house, excited that he could still watch his sports at the party.

"Come to the back," Jacob said, and waited for me to walk up to him.

We walked to the back, were I expected to see Quil and Embry, among other friends of Jacobs from the reservation. They were there, but so were 5 pale faces.

"Hey!" Called Seth Clearwater.

I laughed a bit as his sister, Leah, smacked him in the back of the head. The 5 newer kids to the group were the Cullens and Hales. Edward, who was facing away from me, turned and smiled his crooked smile. My heart skipped a bit, then restarted as I smiled back.

"Hey Bella!" Screamed Alice.

She jumped up and ran over, tackling me in a hug. Everyone laughed a bit at her enthusiastic hug.

"Hey, Alice. I didn't expect you to be here,: I told her, laughing.

"Rosalies been almost attacked to Jacob and the others," she started to explain, "So Jacob's dad invited us all to the party."

"Barbeque, if you ask his dad," joked Quil.

We all laughed because no matter how little barbequeing and how much other, party-related, things people are doing, he considers it a barbeque. He says it's something about how guys liking to host parties is girly, oh well.

Alice finally let go of my, but grabbed my hand instead and pulled me into the circle of menches and chairs that everyone was sitting at. Once I was near the empty spot next to Edward, she let go of my hand, skipping over to the chair Jasper was sitting on, and climbing onto his lap. I noticed that Emmett was next to Sam Uely, who was next to Emily Young. Lean and Seth Clearwater were on her other side, and on the other side of Emmett was Rosalie, then Quil, Embry, and two empty spots. On the other side of the empty spots was the lawn chair Edward sat in. I sat in the empty spot next to Edwards chair, as Jacob, still standing called to me.

"What to drink, Bella?"

"What is there?" I asked as I looked at the others' drinks.

There was water, Coke, Diet Coke, and Mountain Dew, that I could see, which was basically everyone's but Edwards.

"Umm…" Jacob started listing off drinks, "lemonade, Coke, Diet, Mountain Dew, and Fanta."

"Orange?" I asked.

"Like always, Bella," he laughed.

"Yum! Fanta then," I told him.

I heard a hand plunging into the cooler, and a can coming out. Jacob knew better than to throw it at me, and ran right over to my eat, handing it to me only then, and sitting down with a Coke of his own. I saw Edward smiling out of the corner of my eyes and looked over to see what he was looking at. It was me, and when I turned around, he showed me his can, an orange Fanta as well. I smiled at him, realizing it was another similarity between us.

I then got into the constantly shifting and changes in conversation that happens between a big group of teens. About four hours later, Jacob looked at his watch.

"Shit! I was supposed to get Jared an hour ago!" He said, standing up.

"Then we were going somewhere, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're all going to go to First Beach," he filled us in.

"In February?!" I asked.

"I know, I know, I'm crazy, but wait 'til you see what's there!"

"Uno problemo-how are we all getting there?" Emmett asked

"I was thinking your Jeep and Bella's truck, that ok?" he asked us.

"Sounds good to me," said Emmett.

"That's ok with me," I told him.

"Lemme call Jared, but then we can get coming," he told us.

He ran inside, to get on the phone, and the others kept talking. I noticed that, next to me, Edward talked only a bit, talking about cars, music, and general teen-related things. Jake came out, with a tall bag, and we all followed him to the front. Emmett called driving his own car, and I obviously called my truck. Alice sat in my passenger seat, Jacob, Sam, Quil, Embry, and Seth climbed into the back. Jared would join them later, I guessed.

In Emmet's Jeep, Jasper, Edward, Leah, Emily, and Rosalie sat. Emmett was driving, Rosalie in the passenger seat, Emily, Leah, and Edward sat in the back, and Jasper was sitting in the trunk.

We headed to Jareds house where he waited on the porch. When he saw us pull up, he got up and opened the door to his house, sticking his head in, no doubt to tell his parents that he was going. He ran over, smiling and toothy smile, and jumped into the back of my cab, sitting next to Quil. I opened my back window so Jake could tell me what to do and where to go next. He poked in his head, smiling.

"There's a convenient store down the road, do you know it?" he asked.

"Yeah, there next?" I asked.

"Yup, don't worry, dad gave me cash to buy everyone stuff."

I started driving away, and he removed his head from my window. I pulled it up, and made sure Emmett was following me. When I was sure he was, I drove to the store. Everyone jumped out of the cars and gathered behind my truck to make the plan. We could get candy and chips, but our main goal was marshmallows, graham crackers, and a LOT of chocolate.

When we got into the store, we grabbed things such as Twizzlers, gum, assorted flavors of chips, and the things Jacob told us to get. Jacob paid for it all, a total of almost $100. We loaded it into the back of my truck, the floor under Alice's seat, around Jasper in the Jeep, and on the floor under the back and passenger seat in Emmett's Jeep.

Before Jacob got in the back of my truck, he knocked on my window. I rolled it down to see where to go next.

"To First Beach!" He said, eyes twinkling.

"Ok, get in!" I said back.

He jumped into the back, and I rolled up my window. Emmett followed as I drove to First Beach. It was starting to get dark, so I went a little slower to be safe. When we reached the beach, Jacob asked us all to grab something. It really ended up so the guys got most of it, and the few girls got only a few things.

Jacob lead us to an area far enough away that it looks dark, but we can see the cars. He got something out of his back pocket, a cigarette lighter his dad used to light candles, and he got a small stick from the ground. He lit it, and set it into a huge pile of wood, like end in the wood, then grabbed a second stick, and a third, repeating the process until the fire started catching, and the wood was lit.

"YES!" Emmett yelled, "BONFIRE!"

We laughed at how long it took him to realize what was going on, and sat down on the logs, surrounding the fire. We put the bags at our sides, and Jacob grabbed marshmallows and a roasting stick from his long bag he had from before. He roasted two marshmallows, asking for two graham crackers and as he finished roasting, he put one graham cracker underneath them, then some chocolate, that Quil got out for him, adding the other graham cracker on top. As he pulled off the fresh smore from the stick, and took a huge bite off of it, we all stared at him.

"Mmmm…" he said, enjoying his smore with his eyes closed.

He opened his eyes and saw that we were all looking at him. He looked confused at why we were staring, until his eyes got slightly wider.

"OH!" he screamed, then, with one hand, he grabbed the bag and passed it to Emmett, "grab one and pass it on."

I laughed as Emmett got two, and passed it to a scowling Rosalie, who passed it on without getting one and took one of Emmett's. She then smacked the back of his head.

"Ow! Rose! What was that for?!" he yelled, rubbing the back of his head.

"For taking two when you were only supposed to take one! In the seven years you've been with Esme, I'd think she'd have been able to teach even _you _to listen to your hosts1 And from the way Edward acts, I'd take it that your parents taught you well in those eleven years!"

Rosalie kept nagging him quietly, as the sticks got passed around, but when he pouted and gave her puppy-dog eyes, she forgave him. They started to get lightly, but it slowly became more intense.

"Stop, Em! I do NOT need to see my brother doing that!!" Alice whined, hiding her head in Jaspers chest.

Emmett stopped, but Alice didn't move. Jasper was rubbing her back, and kissed the top of her head. Alice then looked up and kissed him lightly, then leaning in closely and cuddling as Jasper put marshmallows on both of their sticks. He put Alice's in his hand with his own, and roasted theirs together. I looked at the rest of the group. Jared, Embry, Quil, and Jacob were hanging out, Seth was coming to sit near me, and Leah was sitting on her own log, scowling. Sam and Emily were kissing and cuddling on the other side, across from Leah, and I remembered their story.

A year ago, Sam and Leah thought they were in love, but when Emily, Leah's second cousin and close friend cam to visit, Sam thought he loved her. Emily refused to go out with him for 11 months, but Leah knew Emil loved Sam, and was only refusing to go out with him for her. She had told Emily to come back, as Emily was at her home, and told her that it was fine if she went out with Sam.

Everyone knew that Leah still loved Sam, even Sam, but he refused to lie and say he still loved Leah, knowing it would hurt her later on anyway, and probably worse then. Knowing Sam and Leah's—mostly Leah's—sad tale, I'm always really careful about getting close with guys, or I would be if I was dating.

Leah had caramel skin, pitch black hair, and eyes to match. Her nose was kind of pointy, but not too much so, and just made her prettier. She kept her hair cropped short, never letting it grow past her ear, after an incident with Seth trying to cut her hair as a little kid. Her hair being so short became a habit, and she now hates having long hair.

Emily is very different. She has a scar, from when she was attacked by a bear. The story is that, when she went back home, she had gone on walks in the woods, and had passed into a bear-infested area, where someone saved her after she was attacked. Before she had the scar, which went straight through half of her face, her eye was ruined and couldn't open, and half of her mouth was in a permanent scowl. The other half of her face, though, was beautiful.

Her eyes were medium to light brown, her skin like a coffee with a lot of milk added, and her hair a lovely, liquid, black. Her face is rounder than Leah's, with big eyes, a wide and flat nose, that fit perfectly with the size of her eyes and mouth. She has a dimple near her lips on her unscarred half, that shows only when she smiles. She's pretty, even with the scar, and sweet, two traits you rarely find in one person at the same time.

Sam is handsome, sweet, and from what Emily has told me, muscular. He's really tall, but most of the tribe's boys grow really tall around the age of 16. Jake, for instance, has grown to be about 6'3" when, last year at this time, he was 5'5". Sam has a cleft chin, not-too-full lips, a kind-of-big nose, and slightly almond-shaped eyes. His hair is cropped short, soldier style, but from what I can see, it looks black.

Seth, Jacob, Jared, Quil, and Embry are all different, but have a lot of similarities. Everyone's hair is black, and almost everyone's eyes are black, except Jared, who has dark brown eyes, and all their skin tones are the color of coffee with milk, but not as light as Emily's. Seth looks a bit like Leah, but with smaller features. Jacob, Jared, Quil, and Embry all have different noses and eyes, but are all sort of alike, mostly small and sort of almond shaped. They are all handsome though.

"Hey," Seth said, approaching me.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"Nothin' with me, but with you…" He trailed off.

"What?" I was sincerely confused, what did you mean by that?!

"That new kid is single, and from what he told me before you came, he likes classical music the best. YOU like classical music the best, too."

Of course. Seth had taken it apon himself to try and find me a boyfriend, because he thought I was 'too pretty to not have someone to love,' but that wasn't it. He's tried to set me up with Mike Newton, Tyler Crowley, and even Quil! Charlie agrees with part of his theory, the 'You're too pretty to waste,' part, but, unlike Seth, Charlie wants me to wait until I'm about 25, maybe 30, years old.

"Look, Seth, I don't want a boyfriend or anything anytime soon. I'm 17! I have all my life to fall in love," I told him for the millionth time.

"But every memory, even with just boys you like, is important!" he disagreed.

After he said that, I looked at him in a way that said 'just drop it.' He did so, and we started talking about other things, catching up with each other. I grabbed a marshmallow as we did, and stuck it into my stick so I could make a smore.

As I turned the stick in the fire, I watched Edward. He kept glancing at me, then away, coughing every once in a while. When I looked down to check on my marshmallow, it was falling off, melted. I tried saving it, but as I pulled the stick away, the marshmallow plopped to the bottom of the fire.

"Shit!" I said, as almost everyone else laughing.

As I reached for a new marshmallow, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I glanced over, to see who it was. Staring back at me was a pair of smiling emerald eyes.

"Want mine?" said Edward.

I glanced down at his arms to see he was holding a perfect smore in his hands. I smiled, looking back into his eyes for a second before taking it. I patted the log next to me and he took a seat. Biting into the smore and looking into his eyes, I was in heaven.

**a/n there it is. I'm over halfway done with ch 4, but I don't know how long it'll take me to finish it…read my oneshot, Melody Maker!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n oops! Sorry for the long time between updates! Just to tell ya, I have been barely writing for this story, so ch. 5 is only a page or so done, I'll write more soon.**

Death Is Sour

"Mmm…" I murmured, "This is great, Edward!"

Seth elbowed me lightly, and in return, I elbowed him sharply in the stomach. He laughed at my attempt at hurting him, and left. Also leaving me we Edward, alone. He grabbed another marshmallow to roast, and as I slowly ate the smore he gave me, he made his own. By the time I finished mine, I decided to save room for whatever would be at Billy's house. We talked as Edward finished his.

"So, tell me more about you, please?" He asked, politely.

"Well, I'm the main cook at home; my dad stinks at it, and I'm an only child," I told him.

I was half expecting him to ask about my mom, but he didn't. Instead, he was waiting for me to continue.

"I hate too much cold. My favorite color is _never_ pink-" I started blurting things out, but stopped myself there.

Edward laughed, smiling that dazzling smile of his. The crooked one, that shows off his beautiful lips and teeth and make his eyes sparkle in the fire light. I stared dumbly for a small time, but smiled, in a try to hide that I had been staring so rudely. I then realized he was talking.

"Alice would die if she heard you say that. Pink is her life."

He laughed more and I joined him. Alice was a nice girl, but she seemed a lot like a little girl, sometimes, when I heard things or saw things like her obsession with pink or her Barbie-like obsession with fashion and shopping. We kept chatting until Jacob interrupted us.

"Guys, if we don't get home soon my dad's going to thing we all hooked up and are making out somewhere," was his line.

All the single guys, except Seth, but including Edward, spoke at the same time. "I call Bella!" is what they said.

We laughed, though Edwards musical laugh soon became a harsh, dry, cough. His siblings, Jasper, and Rosalie all looked at him worriedly. I say Edward give them a shut-up-and-don't-worry look. I felt my brow crease as I wondered whether or not I should ask Edward about it. I didn't have time, though, as we packed up and left too soon.

This time, as I led the way back to Jacobs house, Alice and I talked, and I paid attention.

"Hey, Bella? Do you watch the news?" she asked, tentatively.

My brow creased as I answered, "No, why?"

"Well, there was a story a while ago of a boy who…collapsed," she informed me.

My brow creased as I wonder about the story and what it had to do with me, and if he was okay.

"Who? Or did they not say?" I asked, still confused.

"Um…they didn't say, but I was there, near the end, so I know," she started, hands clenching and unclenching as she continued, "Edward."

I was in complete and utter shock. He could have died, and he didn't tell me, or anyone. The shock didn't last long, as I was responsible for her live, along with all the boys in the back. She was staring at me, with big eyes, waiting for a response, I soon realized. I stayed silent for a little while longer.

"How?" I think asked.

"Well, he-" I stopped her as she started to answer.

"No, never mind, I'll ask him later," she frowned, and I continued, "Why didn't anyone tell me before you did?"

"We promised him we wouldn't tell anyone, including you. He didn't want you to worry," she told me.

"Why did you then?" I asked, though I had wanted to ask, 'why would he care if I worried?'.

"I didn't think you would appreciate being lied to," she said.

That's when I realized something. She had said 'a while ago,' and had a chance to tell me earlier, too! Why had she waited so long to tell me?! My skin got a little hotter, with the blood flowing quickly caused by anger, and I questioned her.

"He hadn't you told me earlier?!" It sounded harsh—harsher than I had meant it to.

Her eyes got bigger, and sad, as she defended herself. I was immediately a little angry with myself and regretting snapping on her.

"I had no chances before today, and I didn't know how to tell you earlier. Plus, I was trying not to think about it," she smiled for a second, "Edward has a tendency to know what I'm thinking."

I laughed a bit, and as it died away, an awkward silence washed over us. It only lasted a minute, though.

"Sorry," I whispered, "I didn't mean to snap so meanly at you."

"It's ok!" Alice said, smiling brightly at me.

"So…" I started, "were there any other near death experiences I should know about?"

Alice looked confused for a second, until she saw the big, joking, smile spread across my face. She laughed, marking the change in conversation to a lighter, non-Edward-related topic. As we laughed and joked, I wondered about what happened with Edward and more. When we went into another awkward silence, Alice broke it.

"They had to use CPR on Edward," her voice was grim, like earlier, and her eyes sad.

"Ok?" I asked, confused, "Why are you tell me?" I had thought we were off that topic for good, I wanted to add.

"Because, he broke a rib," she told me.

"How?!" I asked, "He never seemed like it!"

"He's extremely good at hiding pain," she sighed, a frown on her face, "and other emotions and actions, like coughs. Our dad told us and him that if he started coughing a lot, we were to tell him. Edward doesn't want you to worry and thinks that Carlisle's precaution is a little silly."

I was confused as to why the big deal of his coughing was about, among other things. One of those other things being why Edward was so worried about _me _worrying about _him._

"Why is he so worried about my worrying?" I finally got myself to ask.

"He likes you a lot. He doesn't know he does, but he does."

Her big, light green, eyes were staring at me intensely, like she was waiting for me to admit something. I don't like Edward the way she means, only as a friend. I think.

"What?" I asked, confused.

She looked away.

"Nothing…" she sighed sadly.

She mumbled something I didn't understand, but I didn't have a chance to ask, because we arrived at Jacobs house. Jasper jumped out of the back of Emmett's jeep, and came toward my truck, as Alice got out. She walked toward Jasper, and as the met, they kissed. I wish I could find someone like that…

Edward coughing interrupted my thoughts. The coughs were dry and seemed to hurt his chest, but when he finished coughing, he didn't say anything about them hurting. Because of his hot saying anything, no one else commented on it, except to ask if he was okay. I want to, but I didn't dare ask. It was his business, as long as he wasn't dying from it.

Once his little coughing fit was done, he came over to me, hands in pockets.

"Hey Bella," he said, as though he hadn't just coughed and hadn't had us all worried.

"Hey, Edward, what's up?" I acted as if his coughing hadn't scared the crap out of me.

"Nothing much," he started, "You?"

"Same," I acted nonchalant.

He nodded understandingly, and we walked, following the others to the back. When we turned the corner, we were greeted by laughs and chatter, along with Billy in his wheel chair, at the grill. He had a small indoor grill that he would put on a small table, where he could see how well the burgers were done. He waved, a big smile on his face, as we walked back, the pointed to a huge covered dish, surely filled with burgers.

All the guys except Edward and Jasper raced to make their burgers. As they did that, everyone else went to an empty table and chose their seats. Edward chose one next to me, but soon got up from his spot.

"Bella, what would you like?" he asked.

I was surprised. I didn't expect him to get my own for me, instead, I had expected to have to wait until everyone else finished getting theirs for myself to get mine.

"Ketchup and pickles, please," I said.

Nodding, he left the table and went to the grill. There, he grabbed a burger for himself and a burger for me, then putting them together. I felt as though someone was staring at me, and turned to look at the semi-friendly Rosalie. She wagged her eyebrows and winked. Ignoring her, I turned back to the condiments table, which was swarmed with teenaged boys filling two to three plates each filled with burgers. Edward then picked up our plates with identical burgers and walked over to the table. I helped him by freeing his hand of one burger.

"Thanks," he said, sitting down to eat his.

As he did that, the rest of the guys came over. Sam, Seth, and Emmett all had plates for someone else too, namely Emily, Leah, and Rosalie. Jasper then kissed Alice and they left to get their own food. Alice came back with a hotdog and half of a corn on the cob. Jasper had to burgers and the other half of the cob.

We all chatted and ate for a while longer, until Jacob had the idea of a football game for the guys. Once we all finished, we went to a park near by that had a field, and the boys set up a game. Lean joined them, but the rest of us girls refused to play. Alice and Rosalie would tell me when Edwards team scored or got a touchdown, or goal, or whatever it was that you got in football. I cheered or booed, when they told me what was going on.

As they finished the game, the boys came over, some with big, goofy grins on their faces, and smaller, yet still goofy-looking grins on the loosing teams faces. Edwards team one, Jacob was on the other team. Edward coughed a bit as he approached me. This time I could definitely see that it hurt his chest.

"Are you ok?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I might be getting a cold though," he said a little too quickly for me to believe him.

I nodded, not wanted to get into his business, and we walked back with everyone else. He didn't cough the whole way back, and as we all hung out for about 30 more minutes. As the time ended, I realized that it was 9 PM.

"Oh…I gotta go…" I said.

"What time is it?" Alice asked before I stood up.

"Nine," I answered her question.

"On no! Now I can't go shopping today!" she said sadly.

"Don't worry, Alice, you still have tomorrow to go shopping," Jasper said.

Alice immediately brightened, and I laughed as I got up. I ran into Charlie as he walked into the handkerchief of a living room filled with teens.

"Oh, Bells, I was coming to get you," He said, awkwardly, "It's 9, we have to head home."

I blushed as he used my nickname.

"Yeah, I just realized that," I said back, then yelled over my shoulder as we left, "see ya guys!"

"Yeah, see ya soon!" answered me as they got back to chatting.

The ride home started quietly, but soon Charlie cleared his throat in an 'I-have-to-talk-to-you' way.

"So…are you still sure you don't like any boys?" he asked.

"No," I said before I could think of Edward.

I really didn't need my dad to break out on Edward. Charlie nodded happily.

"Good. Boys are trouble," he told me.

"I know, dad," I said to him.

He nodded once again. The rest of the ride home was silent, but comfortably so. When we got home, I went upstairs to read on my bed. Before I knew it, though, I fell asleep.

______________________________________________________________________________

_I was running. I don't know why, just that I had to get somewhere, to someone. That was when I heard his voice._

"_Bella! Bella! Hurry! Run!" Edward shrieked in pain._

_His voice showed that he was hurting a lot, even panicking, and I kept running. He said the same thing, shrieking my name in pain, but no matter how much I ran, I never got closer to his voice. I was crying now, trying to get to him._

_Suddenly, I was getting closer to his voice, and I soon saw someone in the distance, as I got closer, I realized it was Edward. Jast as I was reaching him, he fell over, fainting. When I fell down beside him, I realized he wasn't breathing. He was cold and still. He was dead._

______________________________________________________________________________

I woke up with my sheets tangled up around me, with a cold sweat on my hairline. When I checked the clock, I realized it was 10 AM. I got out of bed, and went to the bathroom.

My hair was a mess, tangled and slightly like a haystack. My eyes looked scared and, as though I had been crying, the area around my eyes was pink and puffy. After brushing my teeth, I decided to take a shower. I let the cold water wash over my face as I stepped in.

When I finished my shower, I stepped out and brushed my hair. Trying to forget my dream, I went downstairs to each breakfast. I fixed myself a bowl of cereal, and, after eating it, I went upstairs. The rest of the day was eventless.

______________________________________________________________________________

"Hey Bella!" Angela said.

I was at school now, the first day of Valentines week. Angela was extremely happy.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"Ben said he has something planned for Valentines day for he and I!" she filled me in.

"You're going out, of course he'd do something for you!" I laughed as I said it.

"I'm still really happy he is though! Some guys wouldn't do anything," she told me.

Laughing, I nodded my head. She joined me moments later, but soon got more serious.

"So, what are you doing?" she asked.

"For what?" she looked like I had just asked what her name was, and used it in the sentence.

"Valentines Day!" She exclaimed.

"Oh. Nothing?" I said.

She looked at me disappointedly for a second before her eyes became sly.

"Are you sure? That new kid likes you a lot…" She elbowed me softly as she said it.

"Everyone is saying that, except Edward," I sighed.

"Hmm…I wonder why?" she said sarcastically.

"So do I," my voice was joking, but my heart was serious.

"I have an idea! Maybe they say it because…" she paused and started a drum roll, "it's true!"

I made a nonchalant face, but inside my heart was soaring. For some reason, I wished it was true, and that Edward liked me, but it couldn't be true. I shook my head.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because he could have any girl in this whole school. In La push too! He wouldn't like me, I'm too plain," it hurt me to say, but it was the truth.

"Bella!" she almost yelled, but she was definitely annoyed.

"What?!" I answered, confused.

"How many times do I, alone, tell you that you're not plain!? Bella," she paused, "You. Are. Beautiful. Ask anyone. Or do I need to get Mike Newton and tell him you're doubting yourself again?" the last part was a threat.

The last time I told Mike that I'm plain, he gathered together Tyler and Eric and tried to have an intervention. For this intervention, I was made to sit down in front of a screen with a load of pictures of myself as they told me I was beautiful. For an hour, strait. In fact, the only reason they stopped was because I promised now to tell them I was plain.

"No!" I almost screamed.

Angela laughed, and I glared at her.

"Relax! I wouldn't do that to you!" she said.

I scowled at her, but she wasn't phased. She went back on the exact topic I was trying, badly, to avoid.

"You _can't _tell me you don't like him," she started, "It's obvious that he likes you and you like him."

"I don't know _what_ you're talking about," I told her.

She rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Yeah, right."

"Yes! Right!" I tried to convince her, and myself.

She rolled her eyes again, but we changed topics to a safe topic, away from Edward and his family. After that, the morning bell rang. Throughout that class and the next, I avoided talking about Edward with Angela, thankful that I wouldn't have to the next.

This class I have with Jessica, but she's still avoiding me, or at least I think she is. As she walks up to me, more shyly that I've ever seen her, the queen-of-gossip, my thoughts changed.

"Hey, Bella! What's up?" she asked as if she hadn't just been accusing me of stealing Edward—who was never hers—from her.

"Nothing," I tried to be curt so she wouldn't want to talk to me(I got sick of her a while ago, still am), yet polite.

"Really?" she said, accusing me of lying, obviously, "I heard that you and Edward are going out."

"Lies," I told her—she looked hurt, making it obvious that she had made the lie—"Edward and I barely talk outside of scho-"

I saw her eyes sparkle as I added that I _'barely' _talked to him. The sparkles weren't friendly, but mischievous, and happy. I sighed at my slip-up.

"But you _do?_" she asked, trying to sound shocked(which didn't work).

"Rosalie and the Cullens were invited to my friends' parent's party, we chatted a bit. Only time we ever saw each other out of school," I defended myself with the truth.

"Oh," her previous happiness at trying to catch me in a lie over Edward deflated.

"Yeah," I said, curtly.

"Well, bye!" she said, faking perkiness, then running over to seat as the bell rang.

The rest of that period, I felt her eyes on me. The rest of my morning was awkward, trying to avoid the topic of Edward and with Mike and Jessica. I left my classroom before lunch as Jessica and Mike tried to follow me. Avoiding them, I started to 'speed walk' (aka, run) to the lunchroom.

When I turned the corner, I ran into someone. Without looking up, I blushed, mumbled an apology, and started picking up our mixed books from the floor of the hall. Looking up, I two beautiful emerald eyes smiling at me.

**a/n I know, it's shorter…but 3 was a little longer, so 4 is a little shorter…if you guys get this story to 20 reviews, I will work a lot on ch. 5 and get it up as soon as possible, if you get it to 15, I'll work on it just as fast, but won't put it up until I'm at least halfway done with 6. Give me less, and you'll have to wait until I finish 6 just to get 5! I'm evil :) R&R!!!**


	5. AN! SORRY!

**a/n I'm sorry to tell you that this isn't a chapter, but that's because I'm really busy right now. I'm writing a novel, studying for finals, and having a life with friends and family. I'm almost done with the novel (just about another 13000 words to go) and when I am and I send it off to agents and all that good junk, I'll come back to writing fanfic and write a LOT. Probably even 2 chapters a day for When Worlds Collide, and I'll start actually working on everything else. (Death Is Sour readers: I have the next chapter, but I'm not posting it until I finish ch. 6 or even ch. 7. Sorry!) now I'll shut up.**

**Complain to me if you want, in fact, the more you complain, the more likely I am to try to finish my novel faster so I can get back to making you guys happy. **


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